Today Google has made a large change to their marketplace, Google Play where steps have been taken to kill annoying in-app ads. Many of the policies and rules listed have already been in place, but today we’ll go through the new ones that will change Android’s Play Store for the better. If you are looking for a little bit of light reading, the full list of policies can be found here. What you’ll basically find is that Google is looking to give Play a fresh look, from the ads right down to the copy cat apps, everyone should except the developers that make crappy apps.

The annoying in app ads that block gameplay will be a thing of the past, Google now holds the ad company, and the app developer responsive for misbehaving ads. Developers won’t be able to use sketchy ad services that break rules, add shortcuts to your homescreen, toss ads in notification bar and more.

Copy cat apps are going to be a thing of the past since icons, naming, and colors are all now under review. If the app icon and colors are exactly the same as the Angry Birds but it’s called Birds Are Angry or Ebay and oBay then they might be a thing of the past. All copy cat apps are going to come under the gun…so watch out!

Google’s privacy policy has also gone under review viruses, worms, trojans, and more all aiming for your personal data will be tightened.

The payment structure will also change so apps will now have to use Google’s payment system, so you won’t be have to head to another site to get access to the full app. This is going to be a problem for developers that are living in countries that Google doesn’t support.

Google is taking a strong stance on SPAM, check out just a few of their new policies:

• Do not post repetitive content.
• Product descriptions should not be misleading or loaded with keywords in an attempt to manipulate ranking or relevancy in the Store’s search results.
• Developers also should not attempt to change the placement of any Product in the Store by rating an application multiple times, or by offering incentives to users to rate an application with higher or lower ratings.
• Apps that are created by an automated tool or wizard service must not be submitted to Google Play by the operator of that service on behalf of other persons.
• Do not post an app where the primary functionality is to:
- Drive affiliate traffic to a website or
- Provide a webview of a website not owned or administered by you (unless you have permission from the website owner/administrator to do so)
• Do not send SMS, email, or other messages on behalf of the user without providing the user with the ability to confirm content and intended recipient.

They are all changes for the better, so we’re excited to see them roll out.